It was clear to everybody that the 1998 season could be the final for this dynasty, had Phil Jackson been given one other yr contract do you assume the ‘four-peat’ would have been achieved? Randy Brown: It was bizarre as a result of after that season there was a strike. If there wasn’t a strike, Phil Jackson in all probability would have come again as a result of he was hurting bodily throughout that season. He talked about having surgical procedure and probably not teaching anymore, so the NBA occurring strike pushed him to say, ‘let me go forward and do the surgical procedure whereas there’s no basketball in any respect’. We clearly would have gained one other championship. We have been in our prime, we have been wholesome, and we have been hungry. The 2 years Michael went away to play baseball, that’s two extra doable championships. Throughout these profitable seasons, we have been mentally drained, however one way or the other throughout each season, we’d discover our groove to championship. So, yes, if Phil Jackson hadn’t had that surgery, Michael comes back, we have the same core and we get a chance to defend our championship until somebody knocks us off. -via rotogrinders.com / January 30, 2025